As the Nashville Predators take on the New Jersey Devils on Saturday a familiar face is returning for the first time since being traded.
P.K. Subban is making his return to Nashville as a member of a struggling Devils team. When he was traded to Nashville during the offseason in 2016 for Shea Weber. he took the city by storm both on and off the ice.
Taking a look at his time here in Nashville, which was only for three years, he put up some really good numbers for a defenseman. He played 66 games, scoring ten goals and registering 40 points in his first season. They were really good numbers for him, but fell short of his point totals in the three previous seasons with Montreal.
That was a big year for the Nashville Predators as they went to their first Stanley Cup Final and came within two wins of winning it all against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Subban played a big part on that team that shocked the entire league by barely sneaking into the playoffs and then sweeping the Chicago Blackhawks in the first round.
Subban’s time with Nashville
Looking into Subban’s second year with Nashville, the Predators would win the Presidents Trophy. So in Subban’s first two years with the Predators, he helped the team to a Stanley Cup Final berth and a President’s Trophy. He played in all 82 games, which he had never done in his entire NHL career. He put up 16 goals and 43 assists for 59 points.
Subban always played a big role on the Predators power play. He registered 25 points on the power play in 2017-18, but his production dipped dramatically in his third and final season with the Predators. He managed just 31 points in 63 games. Then he became expendable for another more coveted superstar in Matt Duchene.
He dropped in production a little bit because of his injury but still came out strong and left it all out there. There’s no arguing that he made a huge impact on the city and carried himself professionally and represented the franchise well. It was tough to see him go, but it was necessary to get Duchene.
Now you can’t help but ask yourself if missing Subban has hurt the Predators in terms of defense and penalty killing. They’re struggling in both areas. You can’t make that proclamation just yet.
The Trade To New Jersey
Subban was traded to the New Jersey Devils by the Nashville Predators in late June. It didn’t come as a major shock as it was being speculated by many that he could be on the way out due to his huge contract. The Predators in return got four “players” in terms of two draft picks and two current players.
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Defensemen Steven Santini and Jeremy Davies came as the current players. Both are now playing in the AHL for Milwaukee Admirals, but Santini did see a brief stint in the NHL this season. Davies has played in 23 games for Milwaukee this season and has put up ten points. We’ll have to wait and see what the 34th overall pick and the second round pick bring us.
Some fans’ reactions seemed like they were happy to see him leave while others were really big fans of him, like myself, had a hard time seeing him go. Most importantly, he did so much for the Nashville community that can’t be measured in a box score, and therefore made hid departure an even bigger deal.
The Subban/Weber Trade
People still talk about this today and its crazy to think about how the Predators traded away one of their top players in franchise history for a player that ended up just staying for three seasons. It’s debatable if that move actually worked out, but Subban did have a great first two seasons with Nashville that led to a lot of team success.
This shook up the entire league with this one-for-one even swap. Both teams at the time thought they were making their team better by making the swap. Weber still plays for the Canandiens and has 23 points for them this season, so he’s still remaining very productive for them at age 34.
When we look back on that trade, who really won the deal? Montreal or Nashville? It’s a question you can argue for both sides, but both players benefited their teams. However, Weber is still producing for the Canadiens while Subban didn’t last in Nashville that long.
The Predators were able to get their coveted prize in Duchene. If he wasn’t available, Subban would probably still be with the Predators. The jury is still out on if Duchene will live up to the hype and be worth it to letting go of Subban.
How will the reception be for Subban?
Let’s hope the fans greet him with open arms. Subban is a class act, and it doesn’t make sense why he gets booed so often in opposing arenas. He’s a polarizing player, no doubt, but you can’t discount what he does within the communities he plays in. He’s a very likable guy in interviews.
Subban had some interesting words on the Devils official website about returning to Nashville:
"“It’ll definitely be exciting, it’s different. I’m probably a little less emotional than Montreal but definitely it’s going to be great to see some of my old teammates and I’ve kept in touch with a lot of them."
And then he went onto talk about the Predators front office:
"“I’ve already been in touch with a lot of people in the front office, and I think they’re excited to have me come back. I’m excited to get back there and play and we get to even stay over after the game so I get a chance to see some friends and stuff like that.”"
By the looks of it Subban is excited to be back in Nashville and hopefully he’ll get a warm reception that he’s not used to getting from other opposing fans. He did a lot for the Predators in his short time here, and it was unfortunate that he couldn’t stick around longer.
It was a business decision that was necessary to make the Predators do what they had to do to make the team better. Time will tell if that ends up being the case. Subban has just five points in 27 games so far for the Devils this season.
There are some amazing memories to look back on about Subban in a Predators uniform, like his big slapshots to blast the puck by netminders. How about when Sidney Crosby used his head like he was dribbling a basketball? Then there’s all the humorous interviews full of life. He’ll defintely always be missed and remembered for making the most out of his time in a Predators uniform.